7 Ways Journalists are Leveraging Social Media in Their Work

When Cision asked 3,000+ journalists how they’re using social media to do their job, a whopping 96% said they leverage the tech for a variety of work-related tasks.

But they aren’t only using social media for sharing content (although that’s definitely a big part of it). For today’s journalists and bloggers, social media is a dynamic and essential part of their everyday toolkit, offering opportunities for discovery, interaction and verification.

In this post, we will explore how journalists are strategically using social media to not only publish their work but also to find stories, connect with audiences and uphold the highest standards of journalistic integrity.

📣 Publishing and Promoting Content

Over half of U.S. adults (54%) say they at least sometimes get news from social media, up slightly compared with the last few years. So, it came as no surprise to find that 64% of journalists have used social media for publishing/promoting content in the last year — meeting their audiences where they are.

Reporters are optimizing their posts based on what performs best with a particular platform’s audience. They’re using eye-catching images, graphics and video to increase engagement and drive traffic back to their articles.

💬 Interacting with Audiences

Over half of journalists (55%) report using social media to interact with their audience. By connecting with your audience directly — whether it’s through polls, Q&As, live streams or simply responding to comments — you can boost visibility for your content, discover new story angles, and build credibility and trust with your readers.

📰 Staying on Top of the News

Social media continues to be a crucial way to stay on top of what audiences are talking about, what’s trending, etc.

According to the State of the Media findings:

• 47% of journalists use social media to pick up on trending topics
• 46% are using social media to stay on top of breaking news

By creating custom feeds or using social listening tools to monitor what’s happening, journalists can identify big stories early that will be relevant to their audience.

🤝 Networking with Peers

Nearly half of journalists (48%) are using social media to connect with their peers, according to the survey. For freelancers, this can be a crucial way to get your name out there and start building your brand.

Join and participate in a few specialized social media groups for journalists to stay on top of trending stories, jobs openings, tips and tools to use in your work, and more. Just remember it’s impossible to stay caught up with all of them, so select groups that are relevant to your work and don’t overwhelm you.

🔎 Monitoring the Media Landscape

An important part of journalism is staying up to date on the larger media landscape. Knowing how other outlets or covering a story or what other journalists are writing about keeps you informed on the industry, provides story ideas (are there gaps you can fill?) and beyond.

In Cision’s annual survey, 42% of journalists said they are using social media to monitor the media landscape. Free and paid tools are available for setting up alerts for keywords, brand mentions and specific topics.

🎙️ Finding and Connecting with Sources

Using social media platforms to find, vet and stay connected with potential sources is another way journalists are utilizing the platforms (according to 42% of respondents).

Beyond its use for connecting with your peers, editors, etc., social media can be a great way to identify subject matter experts and other sources to provide context for your next story.

If you want to try your hand at crowdsourcing story ideas, put a call out to your followers to gather eyewitness accounts or on-the-ground information.

✅ Checking and Verifying Information

In a fragmented media landscape, maintaining credibility is more challenging than ever. In fact, Cision’s annual survey found that 40% of journalists cite combating ‘fake news’ and maintaining trust as one of their biggest hurdles.

To tackle this, a growing number of journalists are using social media as a powerful tool for verification.

As many as 42% of journalists now use social platforms to check and verify information for their stories. This vital process includes conducting reverse image searches, scrutinizing user profiles for credibility and diligently identifying and debunking misinformation or manipulated media.

Social Media: An Indispensable Tool for Journalists

It’s clear from our survey results that social media is a powerful tool for every stage of the journalistic process—from finding story ideas to connecting with sources, verifying information and promoting the final piece.

While social media can be chaotic, a strategic and ethical approach can transform it from a distraction into an indispensable resource for journalists.

Discover more interesting findings by downloading the 2025 State of the Media Report.

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